Culinary Bliss

October 2

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 21:16:00 +0000

The night before E was born, I took my big belly out into the front yard and dug some shallow holes in the pitch black of night. Every Oct. 2 since then, E and I have planted our own bulbs.

There's something so different about planting in the fall. Spring planting coincides with the waking of the earth, living things bursting forth from every crack in the sidewalk whether we ask them to or not, encouraging our little intentions to bear along side them. In autumn, the world is warning us, in all its beauty, that everything is dying. Plants draw inward or disappear completely. The earth grows so quiet and still.

Planting at this time helps me remember. I remember that darkness will be followed by light, and that new life will always appear, charging through the cold and pulling us into spring. This small act of faith reminds me that the fervent summer is only cherished insomuch as it is rare. These bulbs will not bear unless they are given a long, cold, quiet winter first.
There is a time for all things.

I'm thinking of you always. Come follow along on instagram, if you're so inclined.
xoxo

On Writing and Where I Buy Groceries

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 02:38:00 +0000

Last week I attended the last session of a food-writing class. We were working on food writing in general, and on magazine pitches in particular. As usual, the class pushed me outside of my comfort zone and the pitch turned into an exercise for me in clarifying my tone as a writer, and my intentions for this space.
I started to talk about my story. About not really being interested in cooking at home growing up, discovering cooking (and blogging) as a newlywed, and developing a passion for home-cooked food and local food, both as a hobby and even as a source of income. In the midst of all these things converging, I became a mother. The first few weeks and months of motherhood stripped me of many of the things that used to be a part of my identity, including the time and brain space to maintain the lifestyle of eating that I'd gotten used to. I no longer had the time to cook elaborate recipes. If I'm honest, the harder part is that it hasn't been as interesting to me anymore as it once was. There was a solid year or two in which food became almost utilitarian for me. Before these rushed months, I spent a good amount of time and energy appreciating food and cooking, only to have all these free moments taken from me, however joyful my preoccupation.

I'm slowly finding my new food identity. I'm learning how to weave my appreciation for healthy, high quality food into my routine and my sense of self. I'm learning to accept compromise, which is difficult for me. But I'm doing my best to make it work, including making time to sit here and share this journey with you. Because maybe you're going through the same kind of thing I am. Or maybe you just wonder what it's like. Either way, I think it's important for me to share my experience, in the hopes that people might identify, or at least sympathize. The struggles of motherhood can be difficult to share, especially publicly. I hope that by being honest about my life, my goals and failures in all their glory, I can make it easier for other people to be more accepting of themselves or others. Because everyone is going through something, and it's much harder to feel like you're alone.

One thing that has become particularly fraught for me as a parent is grocery shopping. I remember being childless and going to the grocery store with no idea what I wanted. I'd walk up and down the aisles, pick up jars and glance over labels, always take a stroll by the plant section just to look, and generally take my time. It was never a problem to visit more than one store in an outing, so it was easy to buy things consistently at two or three stores.
Now, grocery shopping is all business. It has to be over quickly and done as infrequently as possible. In her early years, there were many times that I found myself at the grocery store looking through the freezer section. I remember feeling totally averse to cooking because I was so tired and drained of creativity. (This is actually a terribly sad realization to have, the inability to muster creativity. I remember looking at turning raw food into dinner as an exciting project that I could never grow bored with.)

In the last couple years, I've slowly managed to carve out a grocery shopping routine that doesn't feel like torture, doesn't cost an exorbitant amount, that lends itself well to quick and healthy cooking, and works for us year round.
When the season is favorable (for me, May-early Nov.) I buy and cook as much local produce as I can get my hands on. When it's not, I still have to put dinner on the table. Here are just a few of the things that I buy consistently that I know I can always fall back on.
Your mileage may vary, given that this routine depends on some sources that are local to the midwest. If you're close to me (Iowa City) please feel free to email and I'll get you in touch.

We have a huge supermarket chain (HyVee) and I go there as little as I possibly can because I hate it. But there are a few things that are significantly cheaper there than other stores, and of course it has a huge variety. Here is Kalona SuperNatural cottage cheese, which is one of our favorite things to eat because it's free from thickeners/stabilizers and full of protein and good grass-fed fat. There's also a dozen eggs from a local farm. The dozen runs $3.99 and the yolks are darker than other year-round local brands that I've found.

The other brick and mortar store that I visit regularly is our cooperative grocery store, New Pioneer. They have tons of great in-store options. I'm a huge fan of their potato bread for toast or hot sandwiches, and we love these locally made tortillas. E's favorite thing in the world is one of these tortillas warmed up and slathered in butter (I'll get to that in a minute) and local raw honey.

(p.s. once I wrote a guest blog post for New Pi's food blog and you can find it here. Omg that salad was so good.)

We also have a Costco and there are a few things that I buy there regularly, including organic chicken, Ezekiel bread, and lots of frozen vegetables. The frozen mixed vegetables have been indispensable for feeding a small human, and I love always knowing that I have a strong side of vegetables on hand even if I don't have anything fresh.

We also found this huge bag of dried apples at Costco, which are great for easy mess-free snacks, and canned wild salmon which we keep on hand for my favorite pantry dinner, salmon cakes. (That recipe is one of the most popular in the history of this blog! Also consider clicking if you like baby fat rolls.)

Another place I buy from frequently is Aldi's. Do you have one where you live? Aldi is a German store chain, so things are a little different. The biggest things practically that are different are that you must use debit or cash (no credit cards) and you have to use a quarter as deposit for carts. The business model is very interesting and we have been mostly very happy with our local store. Much of their stock is packaged foods, but we've found a few things we love and can count on. They have the best price of frozen fruit that I've found outside of Costco, which seems to have an inconsistent supply, and these cheese crisps are bonkers, guys. We also buy organic salsa and pasta there. It's a great place to buy baking essentials, too.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about Azure Standard. Azure is a bulk buying group that delivers monthly via semi truck that starts on the west coast. As far as I know, Iowa City is its easternmost drop point. You have the option of placing an order monthly and a week or so later, the truck stops at a parking lot in your city and all the goods are distributed. I love Azure for its excellent prices and variety of product availability. Their prices change frequently but I've found them to be consistently good. We buy all our grassfed butter from Rumiano through Azure and this has been a game changer for us. Ellie often asks for a piece of butter to eat raw, and it's because this butter is so flavorful. (Seriously, you should see her face when she tries conventional butter.) We use coconut milk a lot and the organic is cheaper through Azure than the conventional is at our grocery store. Vegenaise, which I find to be the best tasting mayonnaise, is the same. Lastly, I have never met a Greek yogurt that I love as much as this one from Strauss family creamery.

So, as I said above, these are the basic ingredients that I use to throw together a lot of our routine family meals. I try to plan ahead and have easy things on hand and these sources help me do that, but this routine is always changing.

I'd love to hear how you make regular meals work for your family. It's a priority for us to sit down and eat a meal every night as a family, so I'm always looking for new ways to make that happen. What do you always have in your pantry and fridge? Where do you buy it?

Lastly, I want to say with as much emphasis as possible, thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. Thank you for giving even the slightest crap about what I think and write here. It means so much to me.

p.s. It is still totally weird to think of myself as a writer, of this as writing. I can't explain it, but that doesn't feel like a title I own.

On Half and Whole Assing

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 20:55:00 +0000

Yesterday was a hard day for me at work.
I'm teaching more than usual and it has me worn thin.
I'm also sick, which is extra unpleasant when your job involves speaking aloud in front of people for a few hours a day.
Midterms just came and went, so I have students in my office. I have known one of these students for a long time, and this semester has proven to be especially challenging. In spite of great effort, this student is not getting the kinds of grades we all want to see when we look down at that glaring white piece of paper in our laps. This student sits in class every day and is often overwhelmed. I am still humbled by this profession because I didn't recognize it. I saw that look and thought it was boredom, disengagement.
We had a meeting yesterday about the grade, and there was sweat and tears, the words "I am just so upset" were said in a voice that I will never ever forget. And I sat here and thought, "I can't fix this.".
I saw it all unfolding and saw myself trying to be here for this student in the best way I could, while still feeling like I'd failed. I tried to radiate compassion and understanding, and be clear that I will do whatever I can to help.
I just tried to hold the space between us in that moment.
Would you believe that I had this very article on holding space open as this conversation unfolded? One of the many tabs I open and breeze past in my short bursts of inattention at the computer screen between tasks. It was sitting there all along, quietly waiting for me to notice.
If you have a moment, read it. Try to hold space for yourself, and for me.
See, this meeting and this student, that feeling, it hasn't left. I can't get it to go away, or even really soften.
Because in that moment, I felt like I was half-assing my job. If I had just had more time, more mental energy, I could have been there for this person the way that I should.
And the lovely flip-side of this work guilt is mom guilt. The extra teaching I have been doing has required me to work at home sometimes, which is something I never do if I can avoid it, including during my break and on weekends. Including some of the time that I would normally spend soaking up moments with my two favorite people. So, of course, I feel like I'm half-assing motherhood and wifehood.

Why can't I whole-ass anything? Everything? Does anyone?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm always thinking about you.

Some recent photos, for your time. Sorry for repeats, instagram people. (I'm xoaliciarose, come say hi!)

Dough thief.

"This is Elsa's cowl."

A sunny living room is my happy place.

Just us.

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 04:34:00 +0000

Lately I have been

missing

this. will there ever be grass again?

all my people!

but especially cousins

seriously. The light of her life.

and honestly, running. I hate the treadmill and haven't been making winter running work. It has been rough. I need to figure out a routine that isn't weather dependent. I'm trying morning workouts. Pray for me, and maybe send coffee.

cooking

brunch for these wonderful people on New Year's.

a ton of school lunches. Soon I will write a post about the supplies we bought. So far we've carved out a good routine and are happy with the containers we have.

pancakes. We have made a thousand recipes over the years and it turns out that she loves the one I winged and will likely never recreate. Kids.

these cookies for book club. They're a simple shortbread with frosting and strawberry jam layered in between. They were shared at one of the the nicest gatherings we've had to date in which we read a book of poetry (about motherhood! and life! by a mom with a daughter named Ellie!) and the author came a did a puppet show about her rabbit named Chess Piece Face and then agreed to (possibly) join our book club. So, it was sort of the best.

making

Her most beautiful binocular. Her drawing has taken a huge leap recently and I'm trying to keep up with her motivation. I can't wait for warmer weather and more time spent noticing and drawing nature. Her interest in butterflies and birds has been through the roof lately.

So many knitted things. Some for a sweet baby that I just can't WAIT to meet (not mine. not pregnant.) so I can't share. I am working on this seed stitch hat for myself in Madelinetosh yarn in holifestival. I'm such a neutrals girl, but this yarn makes me happy.

She wanted a pink pom pom, of course.

gifts for her teachers with homemade olive oil soap. I got the soap decks on Etsy. They're made in the US and reasonably priced.

some naturally dyed yarns. This fall we cut down our walnut tree. It was not an easy decision to cut down a tree, but it was poisoning our garden. It broke my heart to cut down a tree, one so old and so special, but I'm confident that the extra hours of daylight and a ton of compost will make our back garden plot productive.

I had a hard time seeing the tree go, and I have been listening to the Woolful podcast, so I was inspired to use the last harvest of walnut hulls and bark to dye some yarn.

Merino on the right.

The middle skein is also merino but was dyed in the exhaust bath.

This experiment in solar dyeing resulted in a light vanilla yarn.

I love them all.

I am so inspired by natural dyes. I can't wait to experiment with growing plants and dyeing from them. This summer will certainly bring some yarn dyed with poke weed and goldenrod, and I'm searching high and low for a supplier of woad, and some knowledge about it. There is a ton of information out there about natural dyes, but I'm especially interested in the ones I can grow at home.

tending

one of my favorite Christmas gifts.

My mother insists that this plant was grown from the original plant in this Grant Wood painting. She's had her own for years and I've always said that I was going to steal it, but this is the next best thing.

thinking

I'm trying to write more often and more openly about what's going through my mind. I got such an amazing response from my post about depression and that has fueled me. I want to start sharing the story of what I'm experiencing more clearly, positive and negative, beautiful and ugly, because I think that there's intense value in it. There are so many stories of women, of people, and hopefully hearing what I'm going through can make even just one person feel less alone. I've started opening up blogger and putting up the beginnings of a post, even if I can't see the end of it. Here's an idea I've had rolling around recently:

When we're sitting in meditation (i.e. when we're being in the world), sometimes we experience negative emotions related to something in our lives. The practice is to observe these feelings as reactions, and kindly and non-judgmentally witness and try to understand them.

I frequently feel sad that I'm not able to make my living doing something with food or farming. I wish that I could dedicate my working hours to a job that makes a direct impact on my local food system, especially as a producer, and I'd prefer to do most of my child's schooling at home in this environment. I enjoy making and tending and see great value in a rural life, and it would be such a pleasure to make this my living. But financially I don't see how to make it a reality right now.
Tonight I found myself with this feeling again, which has been pervasive lately. So many thoughts of leaving, developing a different pace of living, retreating from the hustle and bustle.
When sitting in meditation, if we feel something painful or difficult, we don't try to reject what's happening to us. We become receptive to what's actually happening, and then explore easing ourselves around this difficulty, with affectionate attention. Even if we can't make the back pain go away, we can try to soften around it and relax the muscles that we can control like our jaw and neck. This eases tension about pain, which makes the actual pain more bearable, in my experience.
I'm trying to soften around my life right now.
I have a temptation to tense up about it all, my shoulders pinched to my ears. It's freezing, so I'm constantly twisted up into a curl just to survive.
But I am trying to wrap myself in cashmere and wool and relax a little.
I may not be able to become a an alpaca farmer or have my own CSA.
But I will buy locally sourced ethical foods and help those farmers stay in business.
I can afford this because of my job.
I will knit with yarn made from American sheep and hand dyed in small batches by an artisan. All of the included workers will be well paid.
I can afford to do this because of my job.

I am thankful to have the chance to do my job every day. It affords me great luxuries, which do help improve the causes that are important to me.
Sometimes we need a small shift in perspective.

What can you soften around today? How can you find some ease and forgiveness for yourself in even the most challenging times?
Tell me all your secrets :)
All my love to you, as always.

as if for the first time

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 22:32:00 +0000

Have you ever found yourself scratching an itch but not remembering feeling the itch itself in the first place? Or suddenly recognized that you're intensely hungry? Or noticed that you've got some food in your mouth that you don't recall choosing to eat?

When we sit in meditation, we ask ourselves to become more aware of our automaticity. When things occur, rather than reacting, we try to take a moment to understand the event itself and recognize our reaction. From there, any action we take is a conscious and volitional one, rather than a thoughtless reflex. ]

When we are aware of an unpleasant event, we have two choices: the first is to react mindfully to resolve the issue by making a conscious choice, rather than reacting without control. The second choice is to sit with the challenge, to direct all our energy and attention into that difficulty. Over time, it will change. Frequently it will resolve itself without any action on our part.

By cultivating this awareness in our formal sitting practice, we hope to make use of this skill of observing and choosing in our daily life.

It may be the case that the holiday season is not a particularly happy one for you. Maybe you have a relationship that causes you difficulty, or you feel frustrated and insecure about the amount of money and time that seems to flow so freely at this time of year. And certainly we all feel some pressure for things to be just perfect for everyone.

I want to encourage you to take a few moments to step back and be observant in the coming days. Try to see things as they are, rather than how you think they should be or how they've been before. And rather than reacting, give yourself some space to make more skillful choices. Are there stressors that you can limit your exposure to? (For me, this means simplifying my social schedule. I love my friends so much, but I feel drained after too many hours out of the house.) Maybe you have held some traditions that no longer serve you. Maybe it's time to let them go. Look at this season and try to see it as if you've never seen it before.

I hope that you find the kindness and love that your community has to offer. I wish you peace and fulfillment, and implore you to make time and space for self care and compassion. (I can't recommend highly enough these meditations on self compassion. If you are feeling a difficult emotion that's very intense for you, please give yourself 15 minutes and try this one. *warning: you may cry.)

A few photos of our season:
Traditions old

and new

Making

and eating

As always, thinking of you and yours.

all my love.

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 15:40:00 +0000

My dad keeps bugging me to write, so here I am.

I have a lot of little posts that I want to put up, but this one is the one I’ve been meaning to put here for a while.

This August, I experienced a significant transition.

I returned to work full time for the first time in over two years and Eleanor went to preschool.

Being home part time with her was my great luxury. I couldn't treat myself to nice new clothes when I wanted them, or splurge on gifts for the people I loved. Heck, there were times when just meeting our day-to-day bills was a challenge. But as soon as she was in my arms, I knew that I didn't want Eleanor's early years to be spent with someone else. I wanted the majority of her hours, not just for ideological reasons, but because being separated from her was, for me, physically and emotionally painful.

I should be clear that my mind about this topic has not changed. While I've come to a point of acceptance, and can see that there are immense benefits to me nourishing my career and her thriving in an excellent preschool, I still deeply believe that the best place for her to be is at home with her mother. As I march firmly down the path we've chosen of Working Mom and Preschooler, I still hold a very clear ideal in my mind of a homestead and homeschooling. (My fantasy is complete with a hefty retirement fund and a book deal or two, naturally.)

I remember the phone call that started the transition. I was offered a full time position with a significant raise plus generous benefits to teach one more course in addition to the two I was already teaching. I was walking the aisles of the grocery store pushing Ellie in a cart and as soon as I hung up the phone, I burst into tears, overwhelmed by all the things that were about to change, even though the contract wouldn’t start for months.

The first three weeks back were perhaps the hardest of my life. I have never experienced anything like it before, but I think it should be called simply depression. I have never experienced real depression before, so it’s still strange to me to label this thing that happened to me. (I recently started getting migraines and it took me a long time to recognize what was actually happening to me. It’s funny how things change when you have a name for them, isn’t it?)

I had anticipated that the return would be difficult, so I dedicated a significant amount of time to self-care. I took baths and ran as much as I could. I cut my hair, losing a full 10", in an attempt to shed my old self and mark the big change, and bought a few new things to wear to work. I kept the house tidy because it makes me feel better, and spent as much time as I could taking care of myself in all the ways I know how. I let myself play with Eleanor without worrying about chores, but I also went out by myself, for no good reason, so that I could just be alone. These things usually fill up my cup and I can draw on them when I feel stretched thin, but nothing helped. I don't need to add to the sea of writers who have talked about depression, but for me, it was like being lost at sea. I watched myself struggle with the new schedule, ticking off all the requirements of packed lunches and morning coffee and fresh sheets, but I barely felt like I was keeping my head above water. I’d come up long enough to get air to survive, but most of the time I struggled.

I cried. I cried so often. I cried at my desk at 12:30, the time when I'd normally leave to get her. I cried at 4:00 when I left, feeling all the hours in between. I cried when I heard the tiny voices of toddlers around town and when I watched a new mother open the door to the pumping room. I cried after she went to bed because I felt so guilty for snapping at her and my partner because I was feeling so frustrated, helpless, and lost.

When I wasn't crying or angry, I felt sort of numb. It was this insipid underlying nothingness that pervaded everything, and I’d never experienced anything like it. I had moments where I felt happy, but that numbness never left. I would recognize that something good was happening to me or that I was enjoying something, but I only felt my face smiling from the outside.

I could sit at this keyboard forever and never adequately describe what it was like. (And to all my friends, loved ones, and fellow humans who continue to struggle with this every day, I am here, sitting next to you quietly and supporting you, humbled.)

I threw everything I had at this thing and it wasn’t getting better.

Then a few things changed. The first few weeks of each semester are testing, when I have to enforce a lot of rules and meet an endless stream of students whom I will never work with. But eventually my classes started. I had real names and faces to take in and see again each morning.

My period came. (I’m sorry if that’s too much information for you, but its significance cannot be understated.)

Things were still very difficult, but I no longer felt unmoored.

In early September, I had the opportunity to take an intensive class on mindfulness meditation and I jumped at it. For eight weeks, I meditated daily for 30-45 minutes and attended a weekly class. I practiced a variety of types of meditation, all completely secular, and experimented with giving my awareness to different aspects of my emotional life, from how I recognized positive emotions to how I responded to stress. I spoke with a group of thoughtful and hard working people every week about what it’s like to live in a world where everything (and everyone) moves so fast, and sitting, just being, doesn’t seem to have a place. The course is called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. If you want to read more about it, you can look here If you’re interested in taking the course but it isn’t offered where you live or you can’t afford it, a free online option is available here.
Meditation is sort of a strange concept for some people, and it can evoke a lot of negativity. To be clear, mindfulness meditation is simply the practice of intentionally becoming aware.

I still meditate daily. I may miss a day here or there, but for the most part I’ve been consistent since I started the program, thanks to my supportive family.

Mindfulness has taught me about four simple things:

1) Seeing things for what they are. Like most people, I spend most of my time thinking about the past or worrying about the future Mindfulness has helped train me to recognize when I’m seeing things as they actually are and when I’m caught up in the story I’m telling myself.

2) Recognizing my reactions to things as they are. All events elicit some reaction: positive, negative, or neutral. We want good things to stay, bad things to go, and boring things to be over. Meditation has helped me recognize that I have automatic reactions and that these reactions, in themselves, are a sort of story. Everything changes with time. My depression passed. My back pain, which can be incredibly intense on some days, is often completely gone. Migraines end. Job situations change. Children grow and move on to new phases of life. Everything moves along, with or without me, and my reactions to these events do nothing to change them.

3) Being with my emotions. Having these emotional responses is natural, and meditation has made it easier for me to sit with my emotions as I have them, that is, to see them as passing objects, rather than getting caught up in them. (Please understand, I’m not able to do this all of the time. I still struggle with letting my emotions dictate my behavior, and wanting negative emotions to go away.)

4) Being accepting and playful with my life, even when things are difficult. Being a careful parent has taught me a greater understanding of empathy, but it has always been difficult for me to direct empathy and compassion to myself. I didn't realize it growing up, but i have perfectionistic tendencies and get frustrated with myself when things don't go the way I want them to. Mindfulness has helped me be more accepting to the things that happen to me and to my reactions to them, and it has given me tools to be more playful with the difficult parts of life. Being playful and kind to myself takes so much of the sting from things that otherwise could cut deep into me. There are some excellent free guided meditations on self-compassion available here.

I have no authority to teach meditation or mindfulness, but I have a little tool that you might find helpful.

When something challenging happens to you, use the acronym RAIN.

R: recognize Take a moment to see what is actually happening to you and label your reaction. Sometimes emotions can sneak up on us and we need to take a moment to step outside our reactionary selves and see what’s really going on.

A: accept Instead of spending time wishing you weren’t angry, or getting frustrated that you’re wasting time by being sad, accept your emotions as they are.

I: investigate Be curious about your emotions, especially how they are in the body. If you’re sad, where in your body do you feel it? What does it feel like? Don't get caught up in thinking about why you're sad, or what you should do to make it stop. Focus on the feeling of sadness in the body in the present moment.

N: non-identify Your emotions aren’t you. The things that are happening aren’t you. Negative emotions aren’t as powerful when we refuse to let them threaten our sense of self.

I don't mean to sound like sitting in meditation has made all my problems go away, but it has made me feel like I can truly handle anything that happens. It has dulled the sense of helpless urgency that used to populate my everyday thoughts, and has freed me to enjoy the good things in my life more fully. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to take the course and couldn't have done it without the support of my family.

Other things that have been going on here recently:
I've been using instagram a lot. It is so easy to share quick snaps of our days. If you want to follow me, you can here. (You can look at that link even if you don't have instagram!)
Here we are on the Culinary Walk. It's funny to look back and think about years past, before her existence and during my pregnancy, going on this walk. This year I'm on the executive board of Field to Family, the organization that runs the Culinary Walk, and it has been a pleasure to watch it all come together so beautifully.

We raised some tadpoles! It was so much fun to watch them go from tiny little eggs into bright green frogs.

We've also been making a lot of things.

I made my first quilt for E's nap time at preschool.

We made a leaf mobile by dipping the leaves in beeswax and hanging them from a painted stick.

Knits.

Biscuits.

The nephew turned 10 and wanted a minecraft cake.

And this one turned THREE!

I'll be back with more updates soon. Thank you as always for sticking with me. xo

10 Simple Products to Foster Independence in Toddlers and Some Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 01 May 2014 03:56:00 +0000

HI! HOW ARE YOU?!

I'm sorry I have been gone for so long. Every time I sat down to write, I didn't know what to say. I looked at this blank white space and didn't know what to fill it with.

I have been mulling over the idea for this post for a while and it just came together, so here I am. I don't know what blogging will look like for me in the future, but I hope you'll stick around.

I'm going to share 10 products that I think will actually improve your toddler's life and share just a few recent photos. As always, you can keep up with me on instagram, too.

New parents are bombarded with messages from the media and even well-meaning family and friends that children are very expensive and require a lot of stuff. We've made a conscious effort to limit the stuff we acquire for a variety of reasons. I expected that having a child would make this more difficult, but surprisingly it has made it easier. Having a growing little person encourages me to constantly reevaluate my possessions and eliminate/rotate as necessary. I want her to be satisfied with simplicity, so I have to model it myself.

I'd like to share 10 simple products that will help your home become more accessible for your toddler and thus foster their independence. (please note that I've included some affiliate links in this post. If you click and then buy, I get the teeniest of commissions. Most of what I've shown here was purchased used locally, but I do deeply appreciate your support!)

1) Low Cube Shelf
Low shelves allow kiddos to easily access their toys, and a cube shelf reinforces the idea that every item has a place. It also naturally allows parents to easily limit the number of toys a child has out at a time. This cube shelf isn't perfect (you can see that longer items like our knobbed cylinders don't fit) but it works for a surprising number of toys.

2)Hooks
We love hooks around here, especially Command hooks which are completely removable. They make it easy for kids to return their items to a proper place and reach them whenever they need them. It's so much easier for me to ask Eleanor to get her apron or put it away than to do both of these things myself.

3) Small Play Kitchen
Eleanor's kitchen is filled with her dishes, cleaning supplies, and her fruit bowl. Kitchen areas give toddlers the chance to practice mealtime routines at their own level and pace, and reinforces ownership of their things. Look for something with lots of storage space and a simple design.

4) Shower Mirror
These mirrors are made of plastic, making them safe for little ones, and affix just about anywhere. They make it easy to reinforce daily routines like brushing teeth and hair, and general self care like wiping faces/noses. It's empowering for children to be able to see themselves and much easier to use a small mirror than to try to reach the adult-level one.

5)Collapsible Step Stool
I don't know what we'd do without this thing. We have a small home and can't keep a full-sized footstool out all the time. This makes it easy for E to grab things that would otherwise be out of her reach, like the sink for washing hands or brushing teeth, and she can set it up and tear it down herself.

6) Baskets
We have tons of little baskets and bins that we use to collect small items, especially toys. They keep things out of the way and organized, and make it easy to move toys around the house without losing any pieces.
Here are a few in her bedroom:

and in the living room:

7)Mats
This is a basic carpet sample, but it does the job. Mats are an easy way to control mess and limit space. When she selects something from her shelf, Eleanor is supposed to use a mat, though I don't always enforce this habit. The mat limits the work space and keeps items from being lost. Here I use the mat to organize her shoes and socks. This mat, combined with her two hooks, is her landing space for coming in and out of the house. Her lunch bag hangs here, as do any sweaters or coats that she's using for the season. It has been essential for us to limit the number of items here and the mat makes it easy.

8) Travel-Sized Toiletry Bottles

Kids need to learn to use shampoo and bubble bath and mini-sized bottles are an easy way to give them some independent practice without waste. We use this shampooand this bubble bath.

9)KidSwitch
This simple tool extends light switches so kids can reach them, and it glows in the dark. We only have one, in her bedroom, and she loves to use it. We've been encouraging her to play in her room independently when she decides to wake up earlier than usual and this switch helps make that happen.

10) Hanging Closet Rod

I used to set out two outfits for Eleanor to choose from (as you can see at the bottom of this post) but now she picks out all her own clothes. I try to only set out weather appropriate options and keep the number down. This rod hangs from the normal closet rod and is perfectly at her level. More bins in use for underwear and pants/shorts/skirts.

Speaking of picking out her own clothes, a few recent favorites:

Other recent things:

I've been trying to get her outside every day and observe nature. I've started a very informal nature journal by fumbling with watercolors. It's fun for me and she is already asking to join in.

We saw Ladysmith Black Mombazo!!! It was wonderful, especially since my parents surprised us with tickets and an evening of babysitting. I am the luckiest.

The incredible Courtney organized a busy bag swap and we got a ton of wonderful activities for Eleanor to try. She loves this shape-matching work. I'm still holding on to a few activities for a rainy day.

I took a trip to Portland!! Boy that city gets me.
Beautiful plants were everywhere. Raspberries along the highway

and I don't know what these are but I don't think that they are roses. Iowa was still very cold and dreary when I left and Oregon was buzzing with spring.

I ate at Pok Pok and it was so good.

My beautiful friend Phillip taught me about whiskey (seriously, he teaches a whiskey class. GO!)

and I had a few too many of these:

Being away was difficult but coming home to this buddy was so sweet. She's still my kitchen helper. Here we're making meatballs. That cheese is jack with morels and leeks.

We love this beautiful book.

I've been knitting a lot, including these baby gifts

AND A SOCK! Obviously sock #2 is still in the works.

And finally, we've been shopping for one of these, but nothing yet:

Thank you, thank you again for coming back here and sticking with me.

I hope all is well where you are. Are your plants starting to come up? Or is it still too cool? We have had tons of chilly rain which keeps it from feeling too much like spring, but I know warmer weather will be here soon enough.

Lately: Pictured/Not pictured

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:23:00 +0000

Hello! How are you? I've missed you.
Here are a few things that we've been up to, both pictured and unpictured.

Pictured:
As you may have figured out from my most recent post, I spent the day with some bloggers this fall.

We hung out at New Pioneer Coop in Coralville. It was such a pleasure to have these wonderful people here, in my little town, seeing with new eyes the things I see every day. (xoxo Danelle and Ally)

I've written before about seeing my life from the outside. Sometimes I forget just how lucky I am to have a store that is committed to healthy, natural, local foods.

Three great bloggers: Michelle, Kelli, and Allie.

A gorgeous fall day in Iowa City.

Molly's.

the Brown Bottle. A good end to a wonderful day.

On to the holidays. She helped pick out the tree.

Cookies with Great Grandma.

Her maternal side has been out in full force lately. It sort of makes my ovaries hurt. She is working through her bed time and meal time routines a lot during play.

I made a few Christmas gifts.

Christmas. With my family

and at our house. The brown box holds this tangram.

New Year's Brunch. Best yet. I think I can finally make decent biscuits.

Beatrix Potter.

Stacking boxes. We never invested in a pink tower, but these boxes have done just fine.

Not Pictured:

Night weaning. We are still nursing, but no longer nurse at night. It was not easy, but completely worth it. We talked about it for a long time before we started, only during the day, including reading a book called Nursies When the Sun Shines. Once we started, I never looked back. Holding boundaries can be challenging, but children need to be reassured that parents are in charge and that everything will be fine. E's sleep has improved and our daytime nursing hasn't been affected. It has made it so much easier for her to spend a night away from us, which has been wonderful.
Work. I have taken on extra responsibility at work. As a result I have been all the more engaged and involved, which has meant I feel more comfortable and productive. It is so painful for me to be away from my daughter, but feeling positive about work has made it so much easier.
Book club. I meet with a group of women each month to talk about books. I have enjoyed their companionship so much, and am looking forward to another year of reading and talking.
Cooking. I have been cooking a lot but not photographing it. To be honest, it's a very different experience of eating. Taking photos of the cooking process is certainly an interruption, but it also gives time and space to appreciate the beauty and science of each step along the way. I miss it.
Instagram. I took the plunge, got an iPhone, and joined Instagram. I'm enjoying it! It's minimal time investment for social networking. If you're interested in following me, I'm xoaliciarose (http://instagram.com/xoaliciarose) I try to include pictures of our day, the things I'm working on, and the things I find beautiful. Please share your instagram name in the comments. I'd love to follow you!
Blog stuff. Believe it or not, I have some blog-related stuff in the works. Stay tuned, ok?

I miss you and hope you've been well. Are you staying warm? Tomorrow is supposed to be one of the coldest days. I'm not looking forward to it, but coffee and long underwear will help.

p.s. I apologize if the formatting and photos are crazy. Flickr isn't behaving like I normally expect it to, and technology isn't my forte.

this moment: bloggers at work

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:13:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

this moment: buzz

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 20:45:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

With an Open Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 02:58:00 +0000

I just turned 30.
When people asked me what I was doing to celebrate, I said, quite happily, that we hadn't planned a single thing. That I wanted nothing more than to do nothing. I felt like the day should reflect the calm that my life has become. A party just wouldn't fit.
I did get a little crazy, though, and decided to cut bangs.

The day before my birthday, we got together to celebrate the third birthday of my niece. We had so much fun icing her purple cake and admiring the babies in costume. In the middle of the party, my mother floored me by offering to take Eleanor overnight, rather than just for dinner like we'd planned. I hadn't been away from her for more than a few hours since she was born, let alone overnight, but we went for it. I teared up a couple times, but she completely understood and accepted what was going on and had no problem with it.
With no notice, all of a sudden I was alone with my husband for the night. We had so much fun going on a date, hanging out at home, sleeping through the night, and waking up late. Since we didn't have time to plan a super-special birthday celebration, it was just a fun evening. No pressure.
We met my parents with Ellie the next morning late for an early lunch. She slept in (which she never does here!) and was so happy to see us. Her first night away went flawlessly. (The only hitch was my boobs. We're still nursing, apparently quite a bit, and I woke up at 7:30 a.m. after more than 12 hours of not nursing, painfully engorged.)
Lunch was great, and my generous parents picked up the bill. At the end of the meal, my mother handed me a small box. I knew it had to be something good because she said to me "Now don't you DARE lose it!"
Inside was a ring that she has worn every day, next to her wedding set. A solid gold band that belonged to my father's grandmother. I have always admired it and would take it from her ring finger and slide it onto mine. And here it was. Mine. I cried. I may size it down, but for now it looks so perfect next to my wedding rings, which have their own share of family history.

I never want to take it off.

I have learned before, often through hardship, the lesson of letting go. My life has taught me over and over that I need to let go of planning and control and to embrace uncertainty. It's easy to be controlled by fear of the unknown. I want to remember this day when I need that lesson again. I had no expectations for my 30th birthday, and it was the best one yet. I am so lucky and thankful to have my parents. Nana and Papa, I love you.

Guess who else has had a birthday since we last talked?

That birthday banner back there is made from clothing scraps from my mother-in-law. My bff's parents have always hung a similar banner on his birthday, even when he wasn't home, and I hope to keep a similar tradition with E.

She's wearing her favorite overalls. They had gotten too short so I cut the legs off and made them into a dress.
She's holding her big gift from us, a Waldorf doll. I used a kit from Weir and it was actually a lot of fun. Once I decided that she didn't have to be perfect, I just enjoyed the process. After a lot of shaping and stuffing, she went from this (creepy!)

to this.

to this. (Her boucle hair was just too unruly not to have in braids.)

The night before her party, we made chocolate cupcakes. (This recipe, including the frosting, and it was perfect.)

The morning of, we rolled out dough for little apple tarts.

While she napped before the party, dolly (who seems to be named Nico, after a dear friend's baby) got dressed. She was supposed to match Ellie, but I'm not sure anyone noticed.

And I iced cupcakes. It's hard to tell, but there are both pig and cow sprinkles on some of these. Piggy sprinkles was pretty much the highlight of her birthday. Looking back at this photo, I see a little finger made its way into the frosting up front.

The party was a success. Many relatives had asked me what she'd want. Since they knew she was getting a doll, they showered her with doll accessories. She has every possible accessory, including her favorite, the stroller.

The days that followed included even more gifts.

That coat and hat, among many other great gifts, came from the bff. (The other bff gave some fantastic gifts that I just didn't get to photograph. Love you, C.)

Her favorite book at age two.

I gave her her first Reggio-inspired provocation. She didn't learn that red and yellow make orange, but she still enjoyed the work.

She's been using tongs with beans, and playing around with pretend cooking.

I finished a nagging knitting project, this cowl. It was quite easy and fun to make. We went to the pumpkin patch with her grandpa and she found some corn. (I don't know where she learned to make this serious angel face.)

It works equally well when the hood is down, too.

And tonight, we did the trick-or-treat thing. She has been practicing, and while she only actually managed to say it to one person, she got a lot of candy and had a ton of fun.

I should have a photo to share with you tomorrow, and I'm sorry for holding on to all these for so long.

How are you? What did you and yours dress up as for Halloween? Ellie was the cutest bumblebee.

Thanks for sticking around. xo

This Moment: Apple Bread for Master Gardeners

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 15:53:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

This Moment: the way my best friend looks at her.

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:31:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

On Running and Waffles

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 02:45:00 +0000

I can feel myself growing quieter.
It's not so much that I have less to say, but it's that I don't need, or even want, to say a lot of it.
I feel myself drawing inward a bit, becoming more still.
I think of this space daily.

I am turing 30 in a few weeks, and a few months ago I made myself a short list of manageable things I'd like to accomplish before I move to the next decade.

I started with the race because I had toyed with running for years.

And I did it. I ran a 10k in pretty solid time

and completed the big one that I was shooting for:

It turns out I love running.
I'm proud of myself for completing the training, and the half marathon itself was a spiritual experience. It was hard (so hot. What was I thinking running a Labor Day race?!) but I had the tools to do it because I'd trained well. The experience of running a race versus running alone was incredible. I need them both, and think I'll need them for the rest of my life.
Running has much in common with meditation. At its best, it is self-actualizing. There was a moment at the beginning of my half, which I'd trained for for three solid months, when the shoulders of the runners before me seemed to be bobbing along with mine and my music. It was magical. I looked over the water, at the birds and the trees, felt my legs strong and steady, and I felt myself as a part of all things. Around mile six, a train came past us. I felt it speed, its inevitability, and borrowed some of it. After the train passed, I looked to my left and saw a young girl, atop a horse bareback, next to the family dairy cow and some chickens, her younger siblings at her feet.
At its worst, both running and meditation can be torturous. In the last few miles, the clouds opened up and I felt the heat, and my stomach, and I was so ready for it to be over. I'd never run more than 10 miles in my training, so I reminded myself to quiet my thoughts and just feel my body. I tried to remember that every step was one step beyond anything I'd ever done before, and soon it would all be over. And I was right. Eventually it was over and I went about my day, tired, but very happy and thankful for my amazing body and all that it has done for me.
Ever since I saw it, I think of this photo often:
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/60976988930/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice-to-a-large (If you aren't already following HONY, please do yourself a favor and get over there.)
This sticks with me:
"If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?"
"Try your best to deal with life without medicating yourself."
"You mean drugs?"
"I mean drugs, food, shopping, money, whatever. I ain’t judging anybody, either. I was hooked on heroin for years. But now I’ve learned that every feeling will pass if you give it time. And if you learn to deal with your feelings, they’ll pass by faster each time. So don’t rush to cover them up by medicating them. You’ve got to deal with them."

I've been listening to podcasts more often than music, though I'm thinking about quitting both all together and listening to my head. I think you might find these two interesting:

A wonderful little Radiolab short about an ultrarunner with a brain injury. The key to her success is not knowing about TIME. Fascinating.
An episode of a minimalism podcast about positive psychology and flow. I listened to this during my first ten mile run and had another moment where I felt one with the universe and teared up. I realized that I am in flow when I am teaching and running, and feel so lucky to be able to do both.

I'm going to stop talking about running now or I'd be doing it all day.
My point is, a lot of things have been going on in my head, and very few of them have made it on to this page. I'm sorry.
But guess what? I found a perfect waffle recipe. It's crispy and not too sweet. I threw in some apples that a colleague gave me since it's been such an incredible year for apples.
We went out to her farm to pick some ourselves. She was a processing machine:

I took to Joy of Cooking to find a basic recipe and, as usual, it delivered. It recommends trying this with your waffle iron (that's bacon), which I'm going to have to do someday:

My happy place.

I doubled the Joy recipe because waffles freeze beautifully. Reheat them in the oven.

Apple Cinnamon Waffles
adapted from Joy of Cooking
makes approximately eight large waffles

3.5 c. flour (I do 2 c. unbleached all purpose and 1.5 c. whole wheat)
4 tsp. baking powder (aluminum-free)
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. good cinnamon
6 eggs (divided)
6 tbsp. coconut oil/melted butter/bacon fat
3 c. milk (could sub. non-dairy milk)
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 c. apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon)

Separate the eggs.

I always seem to break one.

Put the whites in the bowl of your stand mixer.

Beat the yolks a bit and add the wet ingredients(melted fat, milk, vanilla).

Meanwhile, peel/slice your apples. We used this tool and two small apples.

Add the wet to the dry and the apples to the liquids.

Beat the egg whites until they're stiff. I stopped at peaks that were just barely firm.
Gently fold the whites into your wet mix.

Just until combined.

Ladle into your preheated waffle iron.

Enjoy.

Other things we've been up to:

Friday is homemade pizza night.

OMG Thai food!!!

Wheat gluten with garlic and black pepper.

New books.

I wrote a blog post for New Pioneer's food blog that used some cheese from the Mexican grocery store. I also picked these up, and we said goodbye to summer.

I hope you're doing well out there. I miss you.

This Moment: "I'm Hiding!"

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 23:34:00 +0000

Lessons Learned

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 02:48:00 +0000

I'm going to do some chatting about family here in a second, but I thought I'd start with a few food photos. The peach photo I put up last week was just the tip of the iceberg. I bought a half bushel of Missouri peaches and have been putting them into everything I can think of.

Here I'm peeling them and then putting them in lemon water before freezing.

It's finally sweet corn season. With butter, salt, lime, and chili powder.

I'll have a lot more cooking to share with you soon, including a recipe for peach ice cream and some talk about making soap. But today I wanted to share some thoughts, and ask what advice you'd share with new parents.
Parenting has taught me so many lessons, in that way that only certain experiences can. This is one of many reasons that I feel conflicted about having a second child. I wonder if the learning increases exponentially (as I hear the work does), or if it gets lost among the chaos. With one child, there are spaces in my day, moments between events where I can process and reflect. This is the greatest gift meditation and mindful living has given me: that pause between thought and action. The ability to practice observation of my behavior and emotions, rather than simply being caught up in them. Is this the luxury of an only child? I have seen simplicity improve other areas of my life. Fewer clothes in my closet makes me feel better about what I do choose to wear, and helps me constantly reflect on whether a certain piece has earned its place or should be given away. Fewer dishes in the cabinet make it easier to find what I need and really use. Fewer products in my routine help our space feel calm and efficient.
So, would choosing to have just one child, to simplify my mental and physical space, ultimately be the best choice for my family? Or would another child help me see her and myself more clearly? The waters are murky for me here. There is no way to use logic to make the choice to have a child. It's an inherently emotional decision, and for many, the practical drawbacks that you accept when you choose to get pregnant are enormous. Your life is never more convenient and peaceful than when you don't have children. At some point, you either decide that having children is not for you, or you make the leap and go all in. I suspect it's the same with a second child. A variety of reasons dictate that having another isn't an option right now, but I can't help but wonder if it's not the right choice for us anyway.
A friend of mine just had her first baby, and thinking about the lessons I've learned made me want to write out some advice that I'd give to her. Like all big lessons, these are mostly the kind you have to learn on your own, but these are some things I wish someone had told me back when I first became a mother.

Babies cry. And that's ok. When E was first born, I couldn't stand to hear her cry. I consider all crying a form of communication, and I hated to see her frustrated and uncomfortable. I also couldn't separate her emotions from my own. I'd snap at my partner to give me something that I needed for her because I felt like she needed it RIGHT NOW WHY AREN'T YOU MOVING ANY FASTER?! I thought she was in pain and it felt urgent. But I now realize that babies just cry. They just do. And they're usually fine. Try to figure out what they need, stay with them, let them know that you're there and love them, but don't fix your hopes on trying to get them to stop crying, because they might not.

Whatever happens, it will be ok. I used to (ok, I still do) get so caught up in sleep time. I would get so upset when E obviously needed sleep but wouldn't. Sleep has always been my job, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to get her down when I was certain that she needed it. But now I realize that I should just give it my best shot and if she doesn't go to sleep, it's ok. Really. She will eventually fall asleep. She will eventually eat. She will eventually stop crying. It's going to be ok.

The baby is trying to break you up. Ok, this isn't really true, but it certainly feels true. Babies test relationships in a completely unique way, and it's helpful to say this aloud when things are getting really difficult. It's a funny and light-hearted way to recognize that you and your partner are indeed on the same team. My friend and new mom Sarah wrote candidly on her blog about going through this as only she can. If you're not already reading her blog, please click over and enjoy.

It's just a phase. Baby not sleeping for more than 20 minutes at a time? Just a phase. Refuses to eat anything but cheese? Just a phase. Babies change so quickly, but it can be hard to see past the current trend. Take a step back and know that it will be over soon.

Development is not a straight line. I just assumed that babies just kept getting better in one straight line. I thought her newborn days were the most she'd ever nurse, the least she'd ever sleep. It works that way in a general sense, but there are a lot of hiccups ("regressions") along the way.

Don't take it personally. I know it sounds ridiculous, but for some reason it's easy to take your baby's behavior personally. As if they're somehow doing this to you. This doesn't make any sense, but it's easy to forget because we're all naturally self-centered. It always makes me think of this section of the DFW speech I mentioned in Recommended Reading:
"My natural default setting is the certainty that situations like this are really all about me. About MY hungriness and MY fatigue and MY desire to just get home, and it's going to seem for all the world like everybody else is just in my way. And who are all these people in my way? And look at how repulsive most of them are, and how stupid and cow-like and dead-eyed and nonhuman they seem in the checkout line, or at how annoying and rude it is that people are talking loudly on cell phones in the middle of the line. And look at how deeply and personally unfair this is."

Do less. It is natural for new parents to want to do everything for their child, to show them how loved and special they are. In my experience, the best way to do this is to be quietly present. Be attentive, but not in their face. Let them know that you're there and interested, but let them be alone. Children can develop the capacity to be alone if they're given the chance. They can develop their own sense of what's good and bad, what's interesting and what's boring, if they're given the opportunity to make their own judgments and choices. I have learned much about this from the work of Magda Gerber, founder of RIE.

You're doing GREAT. Really. You are doing very important work and you're doing great.

Would you consider sharing some of those big lessons you learned early on in your parenting journey? I'd love to benefit from your wisdom.

This Moment: Millions of Peaches

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 02:08:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

This Moment: Eleanor Meets Salt Fork Farm's Latest Addition

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 14:23:00 +0000

joining Amanda.
photo by mama Eve Menzel

This Moment: Peeling Tomatillos

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 17:28:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

this moment

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 02:45:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

Green Things Around the House and Link Love

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:25:00 +0000

First, a few links of things I think you might find interesting around the internet.

This local homeowner is being forced by the city to cut back his beautiful yard, to standards beyond those normally required of homeowners. I confess, I am one of the people who has left a note on his front porch. I love his yard and will be so sad to see it converted to grass.
This list, 11 Things I Wish Every Parent Knew, is great.
Lots of my friends are passing around this article about how pregnancy forever changes a woman's body, specifically as it relates to running.
Please read Kate's excellent post about pasture-based farms and MRSA (and send her labor vibes!)
Erin is a great photographer, mama, and writer. This post is an example of why I read her blog.
David Byrne said some pretty sweet things about Iowa.

I'm trying to get rid of clutter in my house. We're having a garage sale this weekend and I'm using the occasion to purge clothes I never wear, kitchen tools I never use, and books I'll never read again.
But there's one thing I continue to acquire and plan to do so indefinitely: plants. I can't get enough.
I recently divided a few of the root-bound plants that had been languishing since we bought the house. I put them into some pots I had sitting around and a few new ones that I got at the thrift store.

I painted the gold triangles on the terra cotta pot, and finally bought a jade plant.

I pulled this gladiolus from the front yard. They are so easy to grow and always impressive. It's sitting on the windowsill with the chicken planter from last week's This Moment.

I'm making a couple attempts at propagation, too. I grabbed this random vine from a planter at my parents' house and have it sitting in some water until it sprouts roots.

I cured some succulent leaves for a couple days and am seeing what happens when I put them on top of some dirt (as shown here).

Lastly, a woman I love got married this weekend and kindly gave us some of the flowers that were leftover from the wedding. Cut flowers are an indulgence I almost never allow myself, so these make the house feel so special and remind me of the gorgeous celebration of their love.

One for Ellie's table.

And one for the big kitchen table.

Do you have any plants around the house right now? Or are you focused outdoors? I'm hoping to bring in some of our herb garden after the season ends because it's thriving this year. Any tips for how to do this would be appreciated!

This Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 15:53:00 +0000

joining Amanda.

Making and Doing

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 20:34:00 +0000

How the HECK are you out there?
Things have been so good here. Summer is in full swing, which means it's almost over, of course. We have been keeping busy but leaving lots of room for unscheduled time to do whatever suits our fancy. The months of warm weather in Iowa seem so much shorter than those that are cold, and we can never seem to get enough of those days where you only come inside to eat.
Before I get to the pictures and things we've been doing, I want to mention one thing that I won't be doing anymore: Simple Lives Thursday. It just wasn't working for me anymore so I, along with Wardeh and Annette, decided to back away and let Diana carry the SLT torch. I am so incredibly thankful for my time as a host and wouldn't change it for the world, but it's time for a new phase.
We have been doing so many fun things recently.
Ellie loves sprinkling things (especially salt) so I thought it'd be fun to melt crayon shavings between wax paper. She mixed colors, I ironed and cut after they'd cooled. We put some of the big ones in the window and I made a garland from circles cut out of the rest.

We're thinking a lot about colors so there are rainbows all over the house these days.

Elle's bedroom gets the best afternoon light and these look so dreamy all lit up.

She also likes spraying (who doesn't?) so I made her her own spray bottle of vinegar cleaner and let her help clean. She cleans her own mirror in the kitchen and the bottom half of this one. The key was finding a spray bottle small enough for her to hold.

She hung out with this puppy and cuteness ensued.

More cuteness in Dad's shoes. Shoes and socks are a big interest right now.

She took her first trip to the lake and liked it!

This happened.

We celebrated America with cold beer, burgers, and backyard time.

I've started a little ritual of tea, candlelight, and work to do with my hands some nights of the week. It's so calming. I've started having a little evening tea with Eleanor, too. We drink chamomile, have a snack, and talk about our day right before bed. It's an effort to slow things down a bit.

Aside from doing, we've also managed to make quite a few interesting things since I stopped here last.
In the spirit of using my hands, I finally finished a little shrug I had been knitting for E. Just in time for summer! Hopefully it still fits this fall. It was my first big kitting project so I was just happy to see that it had two arms.

And a back :)

Almost every weekend we make pancakes. Wet to dry, Ellie stirs.

I got her a small wooden spoon from Goodwill because the big ones are so unwieldy for her.

If I could have my way, I'd have a kitchen filled only with jadeite.

I dug my old cast iron griddle out and have been using it a lot. It's less ideal than using it on a gas stove, but it still works far better than frying in a pan.

Scrambled eggs with fresh chives from the garden.

Creamed kale and eggs over quinoa, on a special placemat.

I am always looking for recipes that E can help with and my salmon cakes are a perfect fit. I prepped all the ingredients and she dumped and stirred.

Concentration.

That is mayonnaise on her face from tasting from the measuring cup, of course.

I formed the patties and fried them up, and as usual, they were delicious.
I'm sorry that I don't have a recipe for you, but I'll see you again tomorrow with another post for the This Moment series. I'm trying to put out shorter posts so I don't go so long without blogging, but it's difficult.
How are things where you are? Thank you so much for sticking around.

This Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Alicia) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 13:13:00 +0000

Oregano and thyme from the garden.

I'll be back with more soon <3 p="">